By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
When the Passport Ceremony takes place at the South-Western Career Academy (SWCA) this year, the graduating seniors will not be the only ones receiving honors.
During their ceremony on May 23, they will be sharing the spotlight with at least four alumni as they are inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame Class.
Dr. Kris Sander, the assistant principal of the SWCA, said the timing of the event was no mere coincidence.
“We wanted our seniors to be able to find inspiration in these alumni,” she explained. “We wanted them to look across the stage, see these successful alumni and say ‘Look at what I can achieve in the future.’”
The idea for the Hall of Fame started to formulate last year while Sander was looking for activities to celebrate the Career Technical Education Month, which takes place in February.
During her search, she came across a school that was preparing for their first Hall of Fame class and thought it was a wonderful way to celebrate technical achievements.
Shortly thereafter, she received approval from the South-Western City Schools District to go ahead with the Hall of Fame idea, but unfortunately the timing did not work out for the 2016 school year.
But this year, she said, was going to be the year for their inaugural event. The only problem is they have no nominees.
So from now until March 17, the SWCA will be accepting nominations of exceptional alumni from either the SWCA or the Paul C. Hayes Technical School.
“People can even nominate themselves,” said Sander.
There are, however, some criteria and eligibility that needs to be met in order to be considered.
The criteria states that nominees will be considered based on professional careers and community involvement. It also states that a person may be nominated more than once, and a person may be nominated and inducted posthumously. Nominations will be kept on file for three years for future consideration.
The eligibility requirements states that one must be an alumni of either the South-Western Career Academy or the Paul C. Hayes Technical School. It also requires that a period of ten years must have passed since graduation and the nominee must work in the industry, or a related industry, they studied while in school.
Upon receiving the nominations, the Hall of Fame Committee will go through the nominations and choose a few candidates for further consideration that year.
Sander said ideally they would like to receive 20 to 30 nominations this year and induct at least four alumni for the inaugural Hall of Fame Class.
She said they all are excited to receive the nominations and cannot wait for the ceremony on May 23.
If you know someone who meets the eligibility requirements and criteria, there are several ways one can send in a nomination. They can be sent to the SWCA, in the care of Kris Sander, at 4750 Big Run South Road, Grove City, OH 43123 or via email at Kris.Sander@swcds.us.
Nominations can also be submitted online at swca.swscd.us
The deadline for the submission is March 17.
